


You're What, Now?

by SaucyWench



Category: Being Human (UK), The Almighty Johnsons
Genre: Attempted Mind Control, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-25
Updated: 2015-10-25
Packaged: 2018-04-28 00:20:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,828
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5070601
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SaucyWench/pseuds/SaucyWench
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>People really should learn to choose their battles wisely.</p>
            </blockquote>





	You're What, Now?

It was sheer dumb luck that they were all in the bar together when the power went out. Mike wanted to discuss some party Ingrid wanted to have, so all the Johnsons were there. Mitchell had just gotten off work, and was meeting Anders there. Axl and Ty were there, and of course Olaf was where the booze was. They were bickering when the bar went dark.

It was an old building, and this wasn’t the first time they’d had problems. Mike sighed and said, “Axl, will you go down and change the fuse?”

Axl grabbed the flashlight from behind the bar and headed down the stairs.

Olaf sat down his beer, but he wasn’t paying attention. The bottle fell over, and beer spilled out to run down to the floor. Olaf didn’t waste a glance at it. Instead he sat ramrod straight, staring blankly at nothing. Mike cursed and started wiping up the mess but no one paid him any attention.

“Grampa?” Anders asked.

“Something’s wrong,” Olaf murmured.

“It’s just the power,” Mike scoffed.

“No, I feel it too,” Ty said.

“It’s your imagination,” Mike said. “You’re letting Olaf spook you.”

Mitchell was looking out the window, and said, “Then why is it getting so dark at three in the afternoon?”

Anders, Ty, and Mike all looked out. Mitchell was right. It looked more like the middle of the night than the middle of the afternoon.

“Something’s out there,” Olaf said. He was still staring blankly, and sounded as if he were talking in his sleep.

Mike came around the bar and snapped the blinds shut. “No sense in providing an easy target. This isn’t the best time to go into a trance, Grampa. Do you know what it is?”

“I haven’t felt anything like it before.”

With the blinds closed, it was almost impossible to see in the bar. Mike felt around until he found some of the candles he had left over from when he thought it might make the bar look classier. He used Olaf’s lighter to get one going, then used that one to light the rest.

When enough candles were going, the light revealed Ty and Mitchell standing up. Mitchell was standing facing the door with his fists clenched. Ty was staring at Mitchell.

“Can you hear it?” Mitchell whispered.

“Hear what, Mitch?” Anders asked in a hushed tone.

Mitchell hunched his shoulders and growled, “No!”

“Mitchell? What is it?” Anders asked.

“It’s telling me to do things,” Mitchell murmured. Louder, he said, “I won’t!”

Olaf was still staring into space, Mitchell was taking a threatening posture, and Anders could see his breath on the next exhale. Mike was behind the bar again, teeth bared in a grimace, holding a knife. Anders had no idea what was going on, but he didn’t like it one bit.

“I can hear it,” Ty said. His words came out on a cloud. “I can’t understand what it’s saying.”

Olaf blinked and shook his head. He sounded more like himself when he said, “Don’t listen to it!”

It was too late, though. Mitchell turned around, and his eyes were black when he said, “It’s telling me to feed. It’s telling me to feast.”

Anders could hear the whispers now, too. They were saying that it would be so easy to get rid of his troublesome family, just a few words from Bragi and he could set them upon each other like rabid dogs. Mitchell would take care of everything else. After, he could bare his throat to the vampire and it would finally be over. He could finally be at peace.

Anders shook his head and bit his tongue hard enough to make it bleed. These were not his thoughts. Someone was doing this to them. He had to find out where this was coming from. He whispered, “You can’t out-Bragi me, you son of a bitch.”

Mitchell’s nostrils flared and his fangs dropped. Anders barely had time to think that making his tongue bleed was a bad idea when he was in the same room as a vampire before Mitchell used his supernatural speed. Suddenly Mitchell was just there, crushing Anders to his chest. Mitchell hissed into Anders’ face.

_“John Mitchell, stop!”_ The words came out of Anders’ mouth, but it was Bragi speaking.

Mitchell recoiled. The god couldn’t control the vampire, but the blast of power was enough to help Mitchell regain some control.

“Anders, what’s happening? Something’s raising the bloodlust and it’s telling me to feed, to feast on you, drink you dry, all of you…” Mitchell trailed off and put his hands over his ears. He bent over, fell to his knees and curled in on himself.

Olaf looked at Mike and said, “I bet you can’t find what’s doing this.”

“Bet taken!” Mike snapped. He closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. His head raised, and after a glance around he strode over to the front door of the bar, and jerked it open. A man was standing there, and Mike grabbed him by the arm, yanking him into the bar and slamming the door closed behind him.

“Who the hell are you?” Mike snarled into the stranger’s face.

The man pulled his arm out of Mike’s grasp. He looked to be about the same age as Anders, and he was wearing a nice pair of slacks and a button down. His shoes were polished, his dark hair arranged in what was no doubt an expensive haircut, and he had a trim physique. Anders might have considered him handsome, were it not for the aura of menace roiling around him.

After he smoothed out his shirt, the man said, “How rude. Do you treat all your potential customers like that? We haven’t met yet. You may call me Whiro.”

A blast of cold came from Ty’s direction, but no one looked at him. Everyone was focused on Whiro, except Mitchell, who was still on the floor and muttering to himself.  

“That doesn’t answer my question. Who are you?” Mike said.

“Oh forgive me. Maori lord of darkness, pleasure to make your acquaintance,” Whiro said with a smirk. “You must be Odin.”

No one bothered to correct him. Anders asked, “What do you want?”

“Well, I was here to grab a meal, and you have something of mine.”

“We don’t have anything of yours,” Mike said.

“Of course you do!” Whiro snapped his fingers and said, “Vampire, come.”

Mitchell was shaking with the effort to stay where he was, but he started to stand.

Anders put a hand on Mitchell’s head, and with all the force of Bragi he said, _“Stay there, John Mitchell.”_

Mitchell sank back down and wrapped his arms around Anders’ leg. Anders could feel him trembling.

Whiro watched this closely before saying, “Interesting. The creature bends to your will. But I am the lord of the dark, and as a creature of the dark, he belongs to me.”

Mitchell shot Anders a terrified look. Before Anders could reassure him though, Ty stepped forward.

Ty was more pale than usual, and surrounded by tiny falling snowflakes. His footprints left ice crystals as he walked, and his eyes were black pits filled with stars. They looked like the sky on a clear winter night. He stopped in front of Whiro, and Mike took a step away.

“ _You’re wrong.”_ Ty’s voice was deeper than usual, with a faint echo. They were no longer dealing with Ty. This was Hodr. And Hodr was pissed. _“There is a god of the dark here, and it is not you. I am the god of all things dark. I am the god of all things cold. I am the blind god who slays the invincible. And I say the child of night belongs here with us. Do you dare challenge me?”_

“You also forgot what you are dealing with,” Axl said. He came up the stairs holding a flashlight in one hand and a sword in the other. “Norse gods are warriors. You won’t be fighting just Ty.”

Whiro looked from Axl to Ty and then raised his hands in front of him in a gesture of peace. “No challenge from me! I thought you might not know what you had here, that’s all.”

“You should be leaving,” Mike said. He crossed his arms and added, “And for the record, we don’t serve food.”

Whiro laughed as he walked to the door. “I don’t order from the menu.” He paused and looked back at the confused Johnsons. “My regular fare gets boring after a while. I was just curious what gods could do for me.” Still seeing confused looks, he sighed and explained slowly, “I was going to let the vampire feast, then I’d clean up the leftovers.” When he saw the looks of disgust on everyone’s faces, he laughed again. “Now you get it! Well, this little chat has been fun. Maybe I’ll see you around again sometime.”

Axl started forward, raising the sword, but Whiro slipped out of the door. As soon as the door clicked shut, the lights came back on. Mike flipped open the blinds and daylight streamed in, making everyone squint.

The tiny snowstorm around Ty disappeared, and his eyes returned to normal. The temperature in the room rose enough that no one could see their breath any longer. Ty crossed the room and sat on a bar stool.

Mitchell stood up on shaky legs and went to Ty. “Thank you for not letting him take me.”

“You’re family, Mitchell,“ Ty said and shrugged. “Like it or not, you’re stuck with us.”

Mitchell gave him a watery smile.

“Well, I don’t know about anyone else, but after all that excitement I could use a drink,” said Olaf.

Mike started complaining about Olaf always wanting a drink. Anders tuned it out and murmured to Mitchell, “Are you okay?”

Mitchell nodded and gave Anders a serious look. “Yeah. You know we have to get rid of him, right?”

Anders shrugged.

“He was going to use me to kill all of you, and then eat you. He’s a murderer and a cannibal, Anders. What if we run into him when it’s just you and me? I’m not willing to take that chance,” Mitchell said.

Anders shrugged again.

“Anders, you know I’m right,” Mitchell whispered.

“Yeah, I know.” Anders looked up at Mitchell. “We can’t involve Axl, though.”

“Agreed,” Mitchell said.

“Hey, what are you two whispering about?” Mike asked.

Anders gave him one of the fake smiles that Mitchell hated. “Just talking about how Ty seems to have gotten a power boost. Hey, maybe he can decorate for Christmas!”

“Just as long as there’s no mistletoe involved.” Olaf gave a mock shudder.

“I’ll try not to stab you with any,“ Ty said.

Mitchell and Anders shared a somber look. They let the others joke to relieve the tension. They both thought they hadn’t seen the last of Whiro, though.

 


End file.
